twangster

Lobster is included but it's Caribbean lobster, not New England lobster. No lobster on Europe based sailings.

The only caveat I'd add would be an international arrival that arrives at the same time as a 747 from China. In that case you can spend some time standing in immigration queues.

Yes. No vest, just a rash guard I wear diving. Dropped my towel on a chair and walked into the water. I have snorkel fins that are small and easier to pack. I wouldn't use them to scuba dive but they are great for snorkeling. The general area is shared with swimmers. There are rafts they can swim out to. Swimmers don't need vests. I think there may be some insurance requirement that if they rent snorkel gear the vest has to be included. If you don't rent their gear, no vest required.

This current sale is weird. I've had some excursions drop $1, other's $3, another $13.37 while other excursion went up $3 or $6.50 or $18.99. There is no rhyme or reason to the sale prices, increases or decreases. Just weird amounts like someone's algorithm didn't work quite right.

And they can continue to do so, illegally. US carrier's like JetBlue, Southwest, Delta, etc. will stop offering a direct route. There is nothing stopping a ship flagged in the Bahamas from sailing to Cuba but absent of 2,000 law breaking US citizens they likely would not fill the ship. I have two passports. I have family that has and continues to visit Cuba. They'll be thrilled with the new restrictions. When restrictions were loosened up they all feared American tourists would kill Cuba's uniqueness and turn it into just another Caribbean tourist trap. Now that fear will be cast aside and many countries from all over the world can continue being tourists in Cuba without the American tourist invasion. Law breaking US citizens can fly on their planes with them just like they did before. Lying to US customs and immigration can have consequences though.

Renouncing US citizenship and moving to another country just to visit Cuba seems rather extreme. Unless you plan to renounce your US citizenship having citizenship in another country doesn't help you. As long as you are a US citizen these restrictions apply to you regardless how you get there or what other countries you claim to be a citizen of. If you fly to Canada and take a flight to Cuba it's not the Canadian's airline job to recognize you are a US citizen and stop you from flying. Cuba won't care when you arrive in Cuba, this isn't their restriction. However when you arrive back in the US and they ask what countries have you visited... now you have a problem.

That is exactly what this "excursion" is - rental of equipment while you swim on your own. It is not guided. I don't think they rent individual items like just flippers. I bring my own gear and snorkel on my own.

There is nothing wrong with small ship cruising especially if you got a good deal. I'm sailing 16 nights on Enchantment's smaller sister later this year. I know the ship and don't expect a brand new ship with zip lines and bumper cars. So as long as you have the right expectations you can have a great cruise. If you have watched other Youtube videos showing bumper cars and ice skating rinks and expect to find them on these older ships you may be disappointed.

Key varies from $19.99 to $37.99 on my booked cruises. Same terms and conditions.

Lobster appeared in January on Indy for 6 nights. Cruise compasses for Indy may help pin point the formal night based on itinerary: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=276

For historical reference pick a date you might book at Next and note the rates for the specific cabin types you are looking for. Every couple of weeks run the prices again, refundable and NRD. Keep a record of it all. When you book at Next look back and compare to what it could have been if you booked a refundable cruise today, 7 months prior to Next.

What benefits did the Key provide on Anthem? Exclusive access to activities for example. Flowrider, rock climbing wall. How about bumper cars, North Star or iFly?

That is correct. Deluxe drink package only. Rules on sharing drinks with any level of package remain the same.

On board for this cruise, looking forward to this unique itinerary and Ovation's first sailing to Alaska.

It will be listed as an excursion in the cruise planner before sailing or you can walk up and rent on the island.

Not losing the OBC is the part that is unpredictable. In the distant past this was common place but also part of the behavior that they seek to discontinue. I have no direct experience with using the 30 day change rule. My concern lies in knowing they seek to discourage booking changes and that retaining Next OBC while making changes is not an official policy you can find written anywhere.

Only if you are on board the day that new cruises are made available on the public website. Next can book them one day before they appear publicly. The catch is they don’t announce it. If you know on that coming Tuesday they are opening 2021 Europe cruises then visiting Next on Monday would be prudent. The trick is learning that Tuesday is the day they will be added. Most of us learn that they have added more future availability after it happens.

If you book non-refundable deposit (NRD) to get lower cruise fare and maximum Next OBC you will be assessed a $100 fee per person to change ship or sail date. You do get 30 days to make changes without fees with a Next booking. Assuming they are offering the reduced $100 deposit you effectively lose your deposit. If you book refundable at Next you may see virtually all Next OBC disappear (compared to NRD) and the base fare will increase by hundreds. What you describe, making a Next booking and then adjusting dates or ship later to retain Next OBC is exactly what they are trying to avoid. Consequently they have made changes like making refundable fares unattractive with little or no OBC and adding the NRD $100 fee which effectively negates the Next OBC.

Welcome to the message boards! You were recently on Harmony and ships across the fleet will price beverages consistent with what you experienced on Harmony. Drink prices on a cruise are pretty consistent with bar prices in hotels and bars in major cities. To be fair I can see why ships can charge a premium. It's at sea, everything has to be loaded and stored on board for days. They have to drag hundreds of cases of each wine/beer/liquor around the ocean, etc. A hotel bar on land has lower operating costs, can pick up the phone and order more supplies that are delivered that day and has infinite variety available yet they charge the same as on a cruise ship. Why do bars on land cost so much? The truth is the two are probably related and have to do with what people are willing to spend. Fresh squeezed orange juice always costs more than OJ made from concentrate.

I also booked a Royal excursion. "Just in case". When the first Cuba changes came people booked before a certain where grandfathered. That's a possibility this time but might include an excursion restriction or grandfathering. You can always cancel an excursion up until a few days before sailing so it was a safe thing to do. We'll see. Time will tell.

The US has agricultural restrictions as well. In Central Park they are not free to plant just what ever they want, they work off a list that is approved by the USDA. When we did the Symphony Central Park tour with their lead botanist several Florida guests offered to take the plants they replace on a routine basis. They can't he explained, once on the ship if they remove something it can't go back on land, it has to be destroyed in the incinerator. They had to work to find plants that met EU regulations and US regulations knowing the ship would come to America after her time in the med. He had reviewed a plan to visit Australia. He estimated roughly a million $USD to gut Central Park and meet Australian regulations. A new ship wouldn't lose that investment if they built it for Australia but taking an existing OA ship costs them a million in plants alone to go there. If they ever left the region and came back to Australia six months later some of it would have to be destroyed and started over again. The fertilizer and sprays they use are also a complex issue. Few are approved for carrying on a passenger vessel and they have to watch where they store them relative to cleaning products or pool care products. One spray may work on one plant but a different plant needs something different. It really makes you appreciate how much goes on behind the scenes that we just don't think about. Symphony skirted a storm a month before the transatlantic. Winds were hurricane force and a lot of pool water was blown into Central Park. It did a lot of damage and thinned out the vegetation (chlorine on plants, not a good idea). He was on his his vacation break at the time but came back to see the devastation. He's been involved with every Central Park and when he told corporate he needed several hundred thousand to fix it they gave it to him without blinking. I was left with a greater appreciation for Central Park knowing all the restrictions and constraints they have to work within yet pull off something so unique and special that looks beautiful. I never would have thought something like Central Park could play a factor in a redeployment plan. There is so much beyond what my simple mind can fathom.

Welcome to the message boards! I understand your sentiments as someone who had their sailing cancelled from this event. I was supposed to board yesterday. We would be heading towards San Juan on a sea day today with 13 more nights ahead of us. Having followed this closely my gut feeling is that May 5th will go as planned. She has proven she is capable of cruising at normal cruise speed several days in a row on her way across. The work in the dry dock below the water line will proceed quickly now, it will be done in a few days, likely by Friday or maybe Saturday. Since they have another week they may do a few more things below the water line like painting just because they can. The work on the handful of guest balconies and railing on deck 15 is minor and won't take long to repair. The only question is the functionality of the Aqua Theater. There have been Caribbean cruises where the Aqua shows were all or partially cancelled due to weather. That's unfortunate but it's the weather. You may miss an Aqua show. Unfortunate but accidents happen. On the other hand maybe repairs to the theater are progressing well and it is too soon to notify guests they will miss the show. With the exception of the Aqua theater and aft area the rest of the ship was untouched. She is still the great ship she that we both booked. Enjoy your cruise!

No single answer is right every time. Sometimes you might get extra OBC but it can't be combined with C&A balcony discounts or other promos. Sometimes it can. Sometimes there is lots of OBC but the fare is higher. You need to shop them and compare. Any device can connect to the ship wifi and the website is free to visit, royalcaribbean.com. You are best to price out a cruise just before visiting Next. If you use a travel agent have them price any itinerary you are interested in. Go to Next armed with all that data. If you prefer refundable bookings Next often becomes unattractive for refundable bookings. On my last Next booking I ran the numbers and while I got $300 in OBC, once you put it all down to paper and compared a booking through a travel agency I was only $75 better using Next. It's $75 so I booked it but I had to pay more for the cruise upfront and got some of that back once onboard. There is danger in OBC - you have to make it onboard. If you miss the cruise or something happens you may end up losing because you never made it onboard to get your money back. $300 in OBC was more than I needed. I spent it just to spend it. I bought stuff I didn't need or want. I got a hat I never wear and a t-shirt I'm rarely wear because it was all the logo shop had that I remotely liked. I may have been $75 ahead on paper but in reality I would have been better off just booking it with my TA and not buying "free" clothing I'll likely donate to Goodwill soon.

Like the guide who claimed he can survive a bear attack using nothing but a .22 LR pistol. Not to shoot the bear, to shoot his buddy in the knee.

The marina is right beside where the ship docks. You have to walk past it to walk to town. Most local tours live off cruise ship business. There is a small campground in Skagway and you can drive there from the lower 48 so the charter might have 1 or 2 non-cruise guests but I bet the majority will be from the ship. Juneau to Skagway is an easy sail in a protected channel. If you had a medical emergency while leaving Juneau that could delay your arrival in Skagway but that can happen at any port. Here is the marina as seen from a ship: